Abundance: The Future Is Better Than You Think vs. X-Events: The Collapse of Everything

The book argues that advances in technology will solve all of our problems. Food, water, energy, medicine -- our capabilities have been rapidly improving on all of these fronts for decades and we're on pace to advance even faster in coming years. In fact, according to the book, the only reason we don't see how terrific our future will be is because of our cognitive biases towards pessimism and gloom. It notes,

...Our brain's filtering architecture is pessimistic by design...(and) good news is drowned out, because it's in the media's best interest to overemphasize the bad.

Therefore we tend to ignore the advances in robotics, nanotechnology, computers, genetically engineered crops, vertical farming, cultured meats, smart grids, and innumerable other technological advances that have put us on the cusp of taking a great leap forward as a species.

This isn't just hot air either. The book goes into detail about the extraordinary breakthroughs that we're approaching: algae that can produce thirty times more energy than conventional biofuels per acre, computer assisted irrigation that will dramatically reduce the water usage needed for farming, autonomous cars that will reduce commute times and almost eliminate accidents, human body parts that can be grown as replacements for our worn out organs, and diagnostic advances that will allow thousands of dollars’ worth of medical tests to be done for pennies. These are exciting ideas that have the potential to uplift the lives of human beings all across the globe.